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Jonah was sent by god to do a job. He was to go to the city of Nineveh to tell everybody that they were evil. Jonah didn't want to do it, so he ran away and got on a boat. Then the sea started to wave up and down very hard and the crewmen were scared. They were asking who was making the sea go up and down and they discovered that it was Jonah's fault - God was angry with him. So they tossed Jonah into the sea.
001:017 Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
002:001 Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly,
002:002 And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.
002:003 For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.
002:004 Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.
002:005 The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.
002:006 I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me forever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God.
002:007 When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.
002:008 They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.
002:009 But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.
002:010 And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.
In this story, the whale symbolizes hell. Jonah was stuck in the "belly of hell." It is interesting to see that the Bible uses the whale, a large, mostly unknown sea creature at that time, to represent hell.
